What’s your car worth?

Friday evening we left for Jo’burg, it was raining, it was the last weekend of the month which typically means ‘pay weekend’ and the roads were crazy! A journey that normally takes us around three hours, took us almost four.

Even when finances are stretched or low, one of the things we do not compromise on is our vehicles. We always make sure that our cars are well maintained, looked after, fully insured and serviced regularly. So although the traffic and the journey on Friday night was hectic, we knew that the vehicle we were in would get us there without any hassles, and of course the girls were both safely strapped in their car seats! #carseatfullstop!

It’s also coming to the end of the year, which for us means re-evaluating our finances, and it’s coming up time for car-insurance renewals and life insurance policy renewals etc. I know a lot of people think insurance is a luxury, but for us it’s really important.

The car I drive is around 4 & 1/2 years old, and has done a higher than average mileage. It was my husband’s car that he used for work until he got his new one about six months ago. As well as being his work car, it’s also the family vehicle that we use when we go on our road trips all round South Africa, and it’s even been to Zimbabwe and back about 6 or 7 times. We love it! It’s the perfect car for our lifestyle! Even with all that wear and tear, it is still in excellent condition because we take such good care of it: regular dealership servicing, new tyres when needed, etc.

When I was asked to review a website where you can sell your car or find out the value of it, I was interested to find out what the car would be worth when you compare it to the insured replacement value that we pay a premium for!

So I went onto the website www.carzar.co.za . The process was so quick and easy. All I had to do was enter the year, make, model, transmission type, engine capacity and number of kilometers my car has done. (Yes, I do know all that, even though I’m a woman!) I was impressed that it even flagged to me that the mileage is higher than average, because I know that it is. Their estimated value immediately came up on the screen, and an email arrived in my mailbox instantly.

They give you two prices based on estimate prior to vehicle inspection. The first is a cash offer, and the second is the offer if you agree to advertise it on their website for 48 hours. There is quite a substantial difference between the two prices.

I was a bit upset to realise that it’s value was far lower than I thought it would be, but I’m guessing this is more for quick sales, and it’s clearly an estimate based on the details I’d provided and is a pre-inspection value. The next step in the process would be to book a free inspection, and they offer a number of inspection centres where you can choose to take your car.

As I am doing a review, I wanted to compare the process with one of their competitors. I went on to another site and filled in the details (far more details were required). Instead of giving me an estimated value for my car it asked me to put in an amount that I thought my car was worth, so I did even though I’m a bit confused by this. On clicking ‘next’ it then sent me to the next page where I was hoping to see an estimated value there and then but instead it just told me that they will be in touch via email. At the time of posting this, I have received a text message with a reference number on it, but no email yet.

Whilst I realise that the two companies have different ways of operating, I think that in this day and age, people expect an answer almost instantly, even if it’s just an estimate initially. If I did want to sell my car, or if you want to sell your car, you want to know its value there and then so that you can work with your budget towards your next vehicle.

Would I recommend CarZar for a quote if you were looking to sell your car? Yes.

Would I still shop around to get the best price? Yes.

Am I selling my car? No way! I love my car (it’s a 2013 Toyota Fortuner by the way). It’s worth far more to us as it is, than what the selling price I was quoted is.

Am I calling my insurance company to review the amount they claim my car is worth!? Hell yes!